Statement by Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey Regarding the Opening of an Investigation Into the Destruction of Videotapes by CIA Personnel

“Following a preliminary inquiry into the destruction by CIA personnel of
videotapes of detainee interrogations, the Department’s National Security
Division has recommended, and I have concluded, that there is a basis for
initiating a criminal investigation of this matter, and I have taken steps to
begin that investigation as outlined below.

“This preliminary inquiry was conducted jointly by the Department’s National
Security Division and the CIA’s Office of Inspector General. It was opened on
December 8, 2007, following disclosure by CIA Director Michael Hayden on
December 6, 2007, that the tapes had been destroyed. A preliminary inquiry is a
procedure the Department of Justice uses regularly to gather the initial facts
needed to determine whether there is sufficient predication to warrant a
criminal investigation of a potential felony or misdemeanor violation. The
opening of an investigation does not mean that criminal charges will necessarily
follow.

“An investigation of this kind, relating to the CIA, would ordinarily be
conducted under the supervision of the United States Attorney for the Eastern
District of Virginia, the District in which the CIA headquarters are located.
However, in an abundance of caution and on the request of the United States
Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, in accordance with Department of
Justice policy, his office has been recused from the investigation of this
matter, in order to avoid any possible appearance of a conflict with other
matters handled by that office.

“As a result, I have asked John Durham, the First Assistant United States
Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut,
to serve as Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia
for purposes of this matter. Mr. Durham is a widely respected and experienced
career prosecutor who has supervised a wide range of complex investigations in
the past, and I am grateful to him for his willingness to serve in this
capacity. As the Acting United States Attorney for purposes of this
investigation, Mr. Durham will report to the Deputy Attorney General, as do all
United States Attorneys in the ordinary course. I have also directed the FBI to
conduct the investigation under Mr. Durham’s supervision.

“Earlier today, the Department provided notice of these developments to Director
Hayden and the leadership of the Judiciary and Intelligence Committees of the
Congress.”